US military operations killed 153 civilians in Yemen last year, Pentagon reports

A newly released Pentagon report formally acknowledges that U.S. military operations in Yemen killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others during three airstrikes in April 2025. The disclosure marks the Trump administration's first public admission of significant civilian casualties. The revelation comes amid intense scrutiny of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has slashed the budget and staffing of the Pentagon's civilian harm mitigation programs by approximately 90% to prioritize military lethality.

Yemen civilian casualties

• ▪A Pentagon report submitted to Congress on August 10, 2026, formally acknowledged that U.S. military operations in Yemen killed 153 civilians and injured 243 others in 2025.
• ▪The April 17, 2025, strike on Ras Isa Port was the deadliest of the three, injuring 171 civilians in addition to the 80 killed.
• ▪The Pentagon confirmed civilian casualties from three specific airstrikes in Yemen: five killed on April 6 near Sanaa, 80 killed on April 17 near Ras Isa Port, and 68 killed on April 28 near Saada.

Operation Rough Rider

• ▪The independent tracking organization Airwars reported that at least 258 civilians may have been killed during Operation Rough Rider in 2025.
• ▪The U.S. military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen during 2025 was designated Operation Rough Rider.

Pentagon casualty reporting

• ▪The annual civilian casualty reports, known as 1057 reports, were mandated by Congress in the 2018 annual defense policy bill.
• ▪The U.S. military did not conduct site visits or interviews to assess the 2025 Yemen casualties, relying instead on U.S. intelligence, imagery, and public reporting.
• ▪The Pentagon's 2025 casualty report did not include an estimated 120 casualties from controversial U.S. boat strikes targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific.

Hegseth policy changes

• ▪Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has cut budgets and staffing across the U.S. military's civilian harm mitigation program, seeking to disestablish the program in the 2026 budget request.
• ▪Staffing at the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence dropped from 40 employees to nine full-time employees by the end of the 2025 fiscal year.
• ▪U.S. officials stated that personnel cuts to the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence and the larger civilian harm mitigation program represent a roughly 90% reduction since March 2025.

Houthi Red Sea attacks

• ▪The Red Sea serves as a critical global trade route leading to the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean, and Israel.
• ▪The U.S. military conducted the 2025 Yemen airstrikes to prevent the Iran-backed Houthi militia from attacking commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

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